Many Wisconsin deer still in rut - and easier to find

That's good news for hundreds of thousands of deer hunters who'll be taking part in Wisconsin's gun deer season, which begins Saturday, Nov. 17.

Some rutting bucks -- male deer on the move in search of love (mates) and trouble (other bucks) -- always are found during the Wisconsin deer hunt. But many more likely will be out this year.

That's because the 2012 deer opener falls on the earliest possible date it can. By law, the Wisconsin deer opener is the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Every day later you go into November increases the chances that each doe has been mated. A mated doe is no longer in heat. When bucks can no longer sense the chemicals emitted by nearby does in heat, they fall out of rut and settle into a less exposed routine.

"As you go further into November, it really starts to peter out," said Kevin Wallenfang, a big game ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "Our season this year is basically a week earlier than last year. In November, a week can make a big difference."

The traditional logic behind a later hunt is to not disturb the mating season, which, in theory, could lead to less reproduction. But many states, including Minnesota, don't hold off until the rut is all but over, and Wallenfang said he's not worried the Wisconsin herd will suffer this year.

"Absolutely not," he said.

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"We've been doing this a long time, and our herd is healthy."

Of course, none of this guarantees success in the state that produces whitetail bucks as big as anywhere. Deer are always more plentiful in some areas than others. The far northern parts of the state where many Minnesotans hunt remain deer-challenged compared to other areas of the state.

New CWD area

One major change for one area of northwest Wisconsin is a new "Northwest WI CWD Intensive Monitoring Area.

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Last year, a single doe near Shell Lake tested positive for chronic wasting disease, prompting the Wisconsin DNR to institute a surveillance program and four-county baiting and feeding ban. The discovery also triggered a Minnesota restriction on transporting into Minnesota deer killed in that area.

The baiting and feeding ban -- in Washburn, Burnett, Barron and Polk counties -- is complete: no corn, no pumpkins, no mineral licks, whether it's in front of your deer stand or back porch. No more than 2 ounces of liquid scent can be laid down.

"We do anticipate that opening weekend we'll have a high amount of contacts with people baiting," said Dave Zebro, regional conservation warden for the northern region of Wisconsin.

Zebro said many Minnesotans with property in the area weren't aware of the ban. Wardens have been contacting property owners when they see violations.

The DNR is asking hunters to voluntarily submit adult deer killed within a 10-mile radius of Shell Lake for CWD testing. All Wisconsin deer must be registered in person. And from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, DNR biologists will be at the area's three registration stations to cut out lymph nodes for testing.

Minnesotans hunting in the area will be banned from transporting their deer into Minnesota, "except for cut and wrapped meat, quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached, antlers, hides, teeth, finished taxidermy mounts, and antlers attached to skull caps that are cleaned of all brain tissue," according to state law.